The following is an AI summary of the event.
The Agile Alliance Young Professionals Committee and Webinar Series launch event, held virtually on July 17, 2025, marked the official kickoff of a new initiative aimed at engaging and supporting young professionals (under 35) in the Agile community.
Hosted by Semira Allen, the committee chair, and supported by Teresa Foster of Agile Alliance, the event featured two speakers, Francesco Bianchi and Lisa Kahle, who addressed intergenerational collaboration and emotional intelligence in the workplace.
Key Themes and Highlights1. Launch of the Young Professionals Committee
- Background and Purpose: Semira Allen and Teresa Foster shared the origin story of the initiative, which began in 2022 with Semira joining the Agile 2023 program team. Recognizing a gap in programming for younger Agile professionals, they launched a Young Professionals Social at Agile 2023, which attracted 40 attendees, growing to over 100 in 2024. In 2024, they introduced a scholarship to enable a young professional to attend the Agile conference for free.
- 2025 Vision: The committee was formalized in 2025 to provide ongoing support through webinars, resources, and partnerships. The event announced the third annual Young Professionals Social at Agile 2025, scheduled for July 28, 2025, at 5 PM Mountain Time in Valley 2, Colorado.
- Committee Introductions: Committee members introduced themselves:
- Semira Allen (Chair, Engineering Manager at Grainger): Emphasized the committee’s mission to nurture the next generation.
- Dayo Adelowotan: Expressed enthusiasm for empowering younger generations and preserving Agile knowledge.
- Raven Rice (Communications Lead): Highlighted the initiative’s role in filling a critical gap for young professionals.
- Akporesiri Omene (Chicago, civil engineering background, recent MBA): Shared her transition to technical project management and connection to the committee through Semira.
2. Francesco Bianchi: Intergenerational Collaboration
- Topic: “Different Ages, Shared Spaces: Rethinking Intergenerational Workplaces”
- Key Points:
- Workforce Demographics: In 2025, Millennials make up one-third of the global workforce, with Gen Z at 18% (one in five team members). By 2033, Gen Z will constitute one in four, and Gen Alpha (currently 12-13 years old) will enter at 14%.
- Importance of Age Diversity: A study of 110 Italian workers showed age diversity as a stronger predictor of well-being and retention than job tenure, role clarity, or organizational support. Yet, fewer than half of 6,000 surveyed companies invest in age-focused diversity initiatives.
- Perceptions and Misconceptions: 74% of managers find Gen Z the hardest to work with, citing perceived traits like non-compliance, opposition, and lack of respect for the status quo. Francesco challenged these, noting Gen Z’s strengths (pragmatism, collaboration, focus on mental health, and loyalty as a two-way commitment) align with Agile principles.
- Call to Action: Francesco advocated for two-way mentorship and multigenerational panels, mentioning his initiative, Jensen, to foster such platforms. He emphasized that perceived generational differences are less significant than shared values and mutual learning.
- Interactive Element: Francesco conducted polls to gauge attendees’ generational identity and emotions about cross-generational teamwork, revealing positive sentiments like excitement and curiosity among the younger audience, contrasting with discomfort often felt by older managers.
3. Lisa Kahle: Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
- Topic: Leveraging Emotional Intelligence (EIQ) for Career Success
- Key Points:
- EIQ’s Importance: Lisa, owner of Higher EIQ and a recruiter in healthcare IT, stressed that 80% of professional success stems from EIQ (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills) versus 20% from IQ or technical skills.
- Job Market Challenges: Gen Z, expected to be 30% of the workforce by 2030, faces biases from hiring managers who perceive them as less professional or overly demanding. Lisa encouraged young professionals to prove these misconceptions wrong through presence and adaptability.
- Resume and Interview Strategies:
- Resumes are a “handshake” to get in the door, not the full story. They should be clear, answer job description questions, and include personal motivations (e.g., Lisa’s passion for adaptive technology due to her sister’s needs).
- Resumes can exceed one page to convey relevant experience, especially for early careerists or those pivoting fields.
- Cover letters, while often overlooked, can showcase personality and communication style if requested.
- Building rapport in interviews through storytelling and empathy is key to assessing cultural fit and aligning with company values.
- Agile Connection: EIQ drives Agile’s people-centric approach, enhancing cooperation, feedback loops, and team resilience in frameworks like Scrum.
- Practical Tips: Use AI tools like Microsoft Copilot to organize resumes but avoid generic AI-generated content. Practice storytelling to convey authenticity and connect with interviewers.
- Analogy: Lisa compared landing a job to securing Lollapalooza tickets—competitive and requiring clarity, cultural fit, and EIQ as a “backstage pass” to stand out.
4. Q&A Highlights
- Degree Requirements: In response to a question about degree-focused hiring, Lisa noted that older hiring managers rely on degrees as proxies for commitment and trainability, but companies like Grainger are relaxing these requirements, especially in tech, where practical skills often outweigh theoretical education.
- Career Pivots: For transitioning to technical project management, Lisa advised relating existing skills (e.g., construction project management) to the new field through storytelling, emphasizing transferable frameworks despite different terminology.
- Cover Letters: Teresa Foster highlighted valuing cover letters for insight into personality and communication, though Lisa noted many recruiters prioritize resumes due to applicant tracking systems (ATS).
- Using AI for Resumes: Lisa endorsed using AI to refine resumes for ATS compatibility but cautioned against losing personal touch.
- EIQ in Interviews: To assess company culture, Lisa recommended practicing storytelling, engaging authentically, and using empathy to build connections, ensuring alignment with personal values.
- Project Management Transition: For a Chick-fil-A senior leader with a computer science degree, Lisa and Semira suggested networking (e.g., via Agile 2025, where Chick-fil-A team members attend) and tailoring resumes to highlight project management fundamentals. Future PMI-focused programming was also noted.
Final Takeaways
Networking Value: The event underscored the importance of events like Agile 2025 for networking, as seen in connections like Chick-fil-A’s presence, which could open doors for career transitions.
Community Building: The Young Professionals Committee is a growing platform to support under-35 Agile practitioners through social events, scholarships, webinars, and partnerships. Attendees were encouraged to join the LinkedIn group for updates.
Intergenerational Synergy: Francesco highlighted the need for mutual understanding across generations, with Gen Z’s Agile-aligned traits (collaboration, pragmatism) poised to shape workplaces if embraced.
EIQ as a Career Tool: Lisa emphasized EIQ’s role in navigating job markets and Agile environments, urging young professionals to tell their stories authentically to overcome biases and align with organizational cultures.
